1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording method and an ink jet recording apparatus using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ink jet-type recording systems or apparatuses, in which liquid ink or melted solid ink is discharged from nozzles, slits, porous film, or the like and deposited on material such as paper, cloth, or film for recording, have various advantages including being designable in a small size at low cost and operate with only very low noise. Recently, commercially available ink jet-type recording apparatuses have included not only monochrome (black) printers, which can produce high-quality print on regular paper such as writing paper or copy paper, but also many types of full-color recording products. Thus, ink jet-type recording apparatuses have come to occupy a significant position in the field of recording apparatuses. In particular, piezo-ink jet recording systems using a piezo-electric device or thermal-ink jet recording systems in which droplets are formed by the action of thermal energy for recording have many advantages including being able to perform high-speed printing with high resolution.
The ink used in ink jet recording apparatuses is mainly composed of a solvent, a colorant, and additives. It is required for this ink to have the following characteristics: (1) the ink should produce uniform images with high resolution and high density without loss of color-edge definition on paper (on the recording material); (2) the ink should have good quick-drying properties on paper; (3) the ink should produce images with good fastness properties; and (4) the ink should have good storage stability over a prolonged period. In addition, high-speed, high image-quality office ink jet printers have been commercially available in recent years, with importance being attached to a double-sided printing function, and a characteristic of being able to reduce or control curling or cockling of the recording medium is required, which can be significant especially when regular paper is used.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 6-106735 discloses a method for improving image quality and drying properties, which includes using a reaction between black ink and a reactive color ink or a reactive liquid. When a black portion of an image is formed with this method, however, the sequence of black ink printing and color ink or reactive liquid printing is changed during the process of bidirectional batch printing. Therefore, for, example, mottling (grainy unevenness) may occur when the color ink or the reactive liquid is applied first, so that images may show differences between printing done in one direction and that done in the opposite direction.
As another example, JP-A No. 11-207999 discloses a method which includes applying a first amount of ink and then a second amount of ink in the process of bidirectional printing, wherein the second amount is more than the first amount so that a secondary color difference between both directions can be reduced. However, this method, in which the first amount of ink is less than the second amount of ink, is basically different from the previously described method using a reaction system for improving the quality of a bidirectionally printed image.
As a further example, JP-A No. 08-281933 discloses a method which includes forming an image by overlaying color ink with a printability improving liquid and then color ink in this order so that any color tone difference can be reduced in the process of bidirectional printing. However, this method requires two types of color ink heads or that multi-pass printing be performed, and thus is disadvantageous in view of such considerations as cost and print speed.